Hobbyhorse



Patented Sept. 6, 1938 PATENT OFFICE nonnrnonsa t vSidney N. Holman, Pittsburgh, Pa. Application october 17, i935, 'serial No.. 45,383

` 4 Claims.I

This invention relates to vhobby-horses and the like, and more particularly to those in which a seat is mounted on the upper end of an inclined resilient bar whereby to lpermit a child seated thereon to spring up and down.

Heretofore it has been the customary practice to construct hobby-horses of this character in a few graduated sizes for children of various sizes; However, even. then diiliculty is sometimes experlenced in obtaining a hobby-.horse in a size which a given child can` ride in safety and comfort. Even when the correct size horse is purchased for a child it is not long before the childs -increase in weight becomes such that the resilient bar can not support it, whereupon the toy becomes useless and must be discarded. Consequently, if the child is to have such a hobby-horse in the future, a new one must be purchased every time he becomes too heavy for the preceding one. This also requires stores handling hobby-horses to carry several sizes in stock.

It has alsofbeen the practice to form upstand- .l

ing ears and a 'ruilled mane on hobby-horses of this character by sawing the board that forms the head and neck in such a manner as to produce a contour representing them. and also to paint the mane on lthe back of the horses neck. A painted mane is not very realistic,while the jagged projections formed by the ears and mane are liable as sometimes happens when the child springs -too high. i

It is among the objects of this'invention to provide a hobby-horse of the character referred to which is adjustable in order to accommodate children of different sizes. which is durable yet simple in construction, and which is safe to ride.

The preferred' embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view thereof; Fig. 2 is a disassembled view of the adjusting members and Vadjoining parts; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the manner of forming a mane and ears.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawing, a supporting base is formed by connecting the opposite ends of-an elongate base member I to the centers of parallelcross pieces 2. By mortising the ends of \the base member so that'the cross pieces can not turn therein, only one bolt 3 or the like isrnecessary for connecting each cross piece to member I. Preferably, the base member is resilient and spaced from the iloor by the cross pieces in order to add resiliency to the entire toy.

u .Attached to the front of the base by bolt I and to injure a child whoJ falls forward against theml Aan additional bolt 4 is the front end of anv elongate resilient member 6,.such as a flat strip or bar of spring metal that is inclined upwardly directly above base member I. The upper or free end of this spring supports a front extension I of a seat 5 8 that is adapted to support a child. Projecting upwardly from seat extension I is a member 9. such as a board, formed and painted to represent the head and neck of a horse or the like. This member and the seat. extension are both conl0 veniently connected to spring C by long heavy screws I 0 extending up through the latter andembedded in the former.

Extending transversely through the head of the horse is a rod II which forms hand-grips for a child seated on seat 8. Mounted on the spring Y in front of the seat extension is a foot-rest formed by clamping two cross pieces I2 and I3 together against the opposite sides of the spring by means of bolts I4, the lower face of upper piece 20 I2 being provided with a transverse recess l5 snugly receiving spring 6 to prevent the foot-rest;l from turning thereon. By loosening bolts Il the foot-rest can be'adjusted longitudinally of the spring to any desired position. q

To rigidly support the lower portion of the spring above the base in order to provide an elevated support for one end of the springI relative to which the seat at the opposite end can spring up and down when a child is seated thereon, a sup- 30 port I6 is removably mounted on the base between base member I and the lower portion `of the spring adjoining its base-engaging lower end. It 4is afeature of this invention that vthis support, preferably triangular in shape, is made up of 35 several superimposed blocks detachably connected together, three blocks being shown;

As best shown in Fig. 2, the upper block I1 is preferably triangular, while center block I8 and lower block I9y are each prismoidalin shape, byA 40 which is meant that their horizontal faces and their vertical side faces are parallel and their end faces converge upwardly. Each of the two lower4 filler blocks is longer than. the blank above in order to preserve'thetriangular contour of the 45 entire support I8. With this construction anyv one or more of the prismoidal blocks below upper triangular block I1 may be removed or replaced in order to lower orllraise support I6 for the purpose of varying the eiective resilient lengtlrffor ,50 children of different sizes. For example, when upper block I'I is raised bypIacing one or more flller blocks'beneath it, it is likewise moved along the spring to a point closer to the seat, whereby the effective resilient position of the spring is -deu creased in length so that the spring is rendered more rigid for supporting heavier children.

Another way of shortening the eiectlve length of the spring, either with or without the use of illier blocks below block l1, is to provide the spring-engaging surface of the blocks with a groove 2l extending longitudinally of the. spring for receiving and retaining a bar 22. This bar is longer than upper block l1 so that when the latter is used without filler blocks the bar extends beyond the vertex of the block for supporting the spring. When the filler blocks are used, additional rectangular filler pieces 23 are disposed in groove 2i below the bar to maintain its upper end projecting beyond the upper block.

The supporting blocks may be detachably connected together and to base member I in any suitable manner, a convenient way being to proy wardly and over to-the center of the piece where vide the engaging horizontal faces of the blocks and base member with registering transverse grooves Min which pins 25 are disposed to prevent the blocks from slipping rearwardly or turning between the base and spring. If desired, each pin may be permanently secured in one of the registering grooves so that there will be fewer loose parts.

It is another feature of this invention that the horse is provided with realistic ears and mane which oier no element of danger to children riding this toy. Accordingly, as' shown in Figs. l and l3, the portion of member 9 forming the back of the neck and the top of the head of the horse is provided with a groove 2li. A mane 28 is formed by laying a strip of burlap or other suitable fabric along this groove and then forcing the central portion of the strip into the groove by a retaining strip 29 of sufllcient width to wedge the fabric strip in the g-oove with its opposite sides projecting rearwarniy therefrom. At the-same time the central portion of a second small strip of fabric is wedged by retaining strip 29 in the groove at the top of the head beneath the mane beyond which it extends to form ears 3E. If the ear-forming piece of fabric is rectangular and the rear corners are folded forthey are held by the retaining strip as shown, the resulting ears are more realistic in appear-y ance. The longitudinal strands of the fabric mane are removed from .the projecting transverse strands, whereby the latter represent the hair of j the mane. The removed strands may then be attached to the rear of the seat to represent the horses tail 32, while the portion of the mane in front of the ears forms'a forelock. Y

A hobby-horse or the like constructed in accordance with this invention has a much longer useful life than those known heretofore because it is adjustablejo accommodate a child as he increases in weight, and because the resiliency of the base member absorbs some of the strain that would otherwise be taken up by the spring bar and thereby lessens the danger of the spring bar '.breaking. By -providing fabric ears and mane the appearance of the horse is more realistic than when they are cut outvand painted, andv no jagged projections are formed thereby that might injure a child who fell or was thrown forward against the horse.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and construction of my invention, and have illustrated and described what I now .consider to be its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described. y l l Y I claim:

l. A toy comprising an upright member shaped to represent the head and neck ot an animal, the baclt of said head and neck being provided with a groove extending longitudinally thereof, a strip of flexible material folded lengthwise with its fold disposed in said groove, an elongate retaining member disposed in said fold for holding it in said groove, whereby the remainder of said material projects rearwardly from said neck and head and represents a mane, and a relatively short piece of flexible material having its central portion held in said groove in said head by said retaining member, the end portions of said piece of material projecting from the groove to repre- .said'groove, the rear corners of said material being folded forwardly and retained in said groove by said retaining member to thereby form triangular portions projecting from the groove and Irepresenting ears. y

3. A toy comprising upright member shaped to represent the head and neck of an animal and provided in its rear surface with a longitudinal groove,'a strip of flexible material folded lengthwise with its fold disposed in said groove, a rod disposed in said fold for holding it in the groove, whereby the remainder of said material projects from the groove, said projecting material being in the general form of fringe to represent a mane, and a relatively short piece of exible material having its central portion retained -in the upper portion of said groove by said rod, the end portions of said piece of material projecting from the groove to represent ears.

4. A'hobby-horse or the like, comprising a seat,

a member projecting upwardly from the front of the seat and shaped to represent the head and neck of a horse or the like and provided inits rear` surface with a longitudinal groove, a strip 

